Rough Draft to a Training Plan
My husband and I have been researching various websites and YouTube channels of cycling experts while working on a training plan for our upcoming bike races and tours. I made a rough draft of a training plan several weeks ago that I’ve been loosely following and it seems that I wasn’t too far off the mark. Apparently, the basics of training for a marathon are similar to those of a century:
- • Intervals at the track or on a trail
- • Hill repeats
- • Long run/ride to spend time on your legs/time in the saddle
- • Easy recovery runs/rides
I’m sure we’ll make plenty of adjustments as the weeks progress, but for now things seem to be working pretty well.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 40 miles
• Average speed: 15.7 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:42 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 64° in basement (feels like outside was 27°)
• What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Even though riding with the Gravel Rats would have given me the perfect distance for the day, I just wasn’t motivated to layer on the winter gear for another cold ride. I opted instead to stay inside on my spin bike which worked out well since my right knee started hurting about ¾ of the way into my ride. I was able to get off the bike and walk off the pain and finish; however, the pain returned after I finished my ride and lingered for the rest of the day.
I’d initially irritated my knee during my fiasco of a ride on Friday when my electronic shifters’ battery died leaving me stuck spinning like crazy the final 7 miles. It had felt fine all day Saturday so I was surprised when it started bothering me during my workout. Luckily, the pain was short-lived and hasn’t bothered me since.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 5K
• Average pace: 14:48 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 199 feet
• Start time: 8:35 AM
• Location: neighborhood streets
• Weather: 38° (feels like 34°) and sunny, climbing to 40° (feels like 36°)
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, down coat, ear warmer headband, gloves, and mittens (took coat and mittens off halfway through)
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Tuesday
Cycling: 30 miles
• Average speed: 12.6 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,601 feet
• Start time: 10:49 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 50° and partly cloudy, climbing to 58°
• What I wore: bike long pants, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, jacket, and winter gloves
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Don’t let the sunshine fool you, the breeze cut right through my spring weight jacket and I was cold until 11 miles in when I started climbing Thomas Mill – I’d skipped wearing my winter jacket for fear of getting over heated while climbing. It was during this ride that I decided I was done with the cold. LOL Of course, if I’d been running I would have been thrilled with the perfect running weather.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day, plus 1 hour of physical therapy
Thursday
Walking: 4 miles
• Average pace: 14:57 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 152 feet
• Start time: 6:04 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 47° (feels like 43°) and foggy
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, down vest, ear warmer headband, and gloves
Cycling: 20 miles
• Average speed: 13.7 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 564 feet
• Start time: 12:54 PM
• Location: W&OD Trail
• Weather: 50° (feels like 45°) and cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, l/s jersey, light jacket, and fingered gloves
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Like most Thursdays, it was a double cardio workout day. First up was an early morning virtual walk with Kim before seeing clients. Later, I headed outside for intervals on my bike.
My first ever intervals on my bike went well. After a 12-minute warmup riding to where I planned to start my intervals, I did 4 x 1.75 miles on a section of the W&OD Trail that’s at a 1-2% grade. After each interval, I rode back to the starting point and immediately started the next interval. I had a headwind on every interval so I really wasn’t able to pick up my speed as planned, but based on my heart rate during my interval versus rest cycles, I was right where I needed to be. Once finished with my fourth interval, I added 2 extra miles during my cool down before riding home to finish at a tidy 20 miles.
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 14:42
• Elevation gain: 97 feet
• Start time: 8:53 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 49° and sunny, climbing to 51°
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, velour jacket, gloves, ear warmer headband, and visor
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Saturday
Cycling: 50 miles
• Average speed: 11.9 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 3,612 feet
• Start time: 10:26 AM
• Location: 2023 Grinder Nationals course
• Weather: 54° and partly cloudy, climbing to 64° and cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, ear warmer headband, and fingered gloves
Physical therapy stretches: 3 times per day
Our training plan calls for long easier rides on the the weekends. We feel that because our races are on gravel, it’s important to ride gravel on the weekends since we mostly ride paved during the week. Because of the foothills leading to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s impossible to ride on the western side of our county where the gravel roads are located and keep it easy, though. We opted to ride one loop of the 2023 race course to familiarize ourselves with the course; however, the 2024 course won’t be released until early May so there’s no guarantee we’re riding this year’s race course.
I actually felt pretty good when I completed the 50-mile loop, but couldn’t imagine doing it a second time. I’ve got six weeks until it’s show time which motivates me to keep training hard.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: March 10 – 16 and March 17 – 23 / A Spring Break Rundown Twofer
- • Tuesday – Virginia Capital Trail Richmond to Jamestown Two-Day Tour
Questions:
- • Are you currently training for any races, and if so, how much time do you spend per week training? ~ Sooo much time…
- • How’s the weather where you live? Has it been a windy March in your neck of the woods? ~ It seems like it’s been windier than usual here, but maybe it’s just because I’ve been out on my bike more than any other spring.
- • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ no
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
*********************************************************************
I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.
Glad to read that your knee pain was temporary.
I plan to train for a race but then weather and work gets in my way. So next half will be a get it done and try to try for the Brooklyn half in May.
Yes training takes too much time. Ur seems like you are right on track. Can’t wait to see how the race goes.
Many races scheduled now. But no for be. A cold windy long run instead.
Yes, I was so grateful that all knee pain had gone away by Monday.
My bike training is taking so much longer than for running. I could complete a 20-mile long run in three hours, but yesterday’s ride took us five hours, plus the drive to the western side of the county to get to the gravel roads we wanted to ride.
Well it certainly looks like you’re training for a big bike race! You logged a lot of miles this week. I can see how that’s taking up a lot of your time (plus the strength training, PT stretches, etc.) I’m glad to see you and Kim had your Thursday workout- I know she had quite a week!
I can imagine that you’re ready for some warmer weather. Hope you get some this week!
Thanks, Jenny! Today’s weather has been gorgeous! Let’s hope this week is similar.
I love how you and your hubs are really diving into training for this ride!
I’m not officially training for my half–I feel I’m as ready as I can be. I’m not running it for time and I know I can do the distance. It’s just going to be slow and probably painful on the second loop. It’s really hilly there!
Even though we’ve ridden several centuries, 100 miles on gravel is quite different (plus it’s much earlier in the season than our previous centuries). If we aren’t serious with our training I’m afraid we’ll want to quit after the first 50 mile loop.
You are going to have so much fun at your trail half – you’ll be in your happy place!
Great week! I love following your journey on the gravel! It’s so different from my cycling experiences.
Weather here is weird. It’s warming up pretty quickly, and the humidity has kicked in for sure! But we have so many storms going through and that’s hard.
I have some races coming up… a 5K, a 10K and a 10 miler.
Jenn recently posted…More Scenes From Spring
So many race, how exciting! And yes, gravel riding is so different than regular road riding.
Impressive miles in the saddle! All the gravel, though, would have me not too excited(I like my smooth roads), I agree… I’m done with the cold and especially the wind!
Thanks, Kim! You know I love my gravel roads, but if we’re ever able to ride together, I’ll happily ride pavement with you! 🙂
You’ll be able to do a second loop without a doubt! Excellent training, Debbie! Especially those intervals!
When I couldn’t run anymore last month because of my stress fracture, my coach gave me bike workouts, including intervals.
Here’s the problem: I couldn’t get my heart rate up. Also, it was tricky to find a good stretch to do the intervals (no bike trails, it’s all share the road with traffic and traffic lights, etc.). My bike is a mountain bike and I found the only way I could get my heart rate up is by climbing hills, so I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. Not exactly ideal!
Thanks, Catrina! I’m having a baby set-back this week, but hope to be able to continue serious training again soon.
That’s interesting about not being able to get your heart rate up on the bike. Was it because of so much stopping and starting at traffic lights? I certainly have no problem getting mine up on my Tuesday hills or during intervals. Of course, I’m much older than you and certainly not in the (running) cardio shape I used to be in. 😉
I think training together like this would be such a great experience as a couple, especially providing motivation to check all of the boxes on the training plan. I enjoy hearing all about it!
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – Happy Easter!
My husband and I miss training for marathons together so this has been really fun for us. I’m glad you’re enjoying hearing about it!
How fun you and your husband can work on the plan and do the training together! That’s amazing. It sounds like you’ll be fully prepared of course!
Thanks, Jessie! I hope we’ll be prepared. 🙂